Revolutionaries at Hogwarts
by FangirlingMeerkat
Summary: Unrest is stirring in the British colonies in America, and in an attempt to quench the rebellion Britain passes a new law, stating that every child who shows signs of magic must attend Hogwarts. So it comes that in the middle of a term, the orphaned Alexander Hamilton arrives in the great castle, ready to learn all that he can. But while he's there, will he make friends, or foes?
1. The Story of the Sorting

**The Story of the Sorting**

* * *

It was a strange situation indeed, when a group of teenagers far older than eleven were lining up to be sorted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Then again, these times were full of strange situations.

Alexander Hamilton fiddled nervously with the hem on his robe, his fingers worrying at the already threadbare fabric. They were hand-me-downs, and he wasn't fond of that, but at least he had robes.

 _Robes_. Robes, as in, a school uniform. He'd never thought he'd wear those kind of clothes.

As an orphan he barely had enough money to make it through the day. He made it, of course, whether through begging, bartering, borrowing or, in dire need, stealing. He didn't like doing it, but when you're living on your knees you have to find some sort of way to rise up.

Alexander was very much aware that the best way to rise up would've been through education. When he was a child his mother had told him everything about Ilvermorny, the great magic school in America. As a squib she'd never been able to attend, but when Alex started showing signs of magic she gushed with pride, telling him all about the wonders she'd heard told about it.

But of course, if you can't afford your next meal, you can't afford a tuition.

Alex had learned what he could, purchasing a wand with what little money he'd scrapped together, pouring over any books he could find in trash cans, libraries, and on unguarded benches.

Now he glanced around the room, pleased to see that though most of the people around him must have an education far superior to his own, they all looked equally uncomfortable and misplaced. The few people that talked spoke in hushed voices, but the stone walls magnified their words, and their American accents echoed around the room, so at odds with the British coat of arms painted on the wall.

"I can't _believe_ they're making us come here," said a voice. Alexander turned towards it, finding that it belonged to a tall kid with a fluffy afro and robes that certainly were not hand-me-downs. "I was just about to go back to France, too!" he drawled in a heavy southern accent. A shorter kid next to him murmured something that Alexander didn't catch, because his attention was piqued by another guy, who looked quite similar to the first boy and who'd looked up with sudden interest when France was mentioned. A sibling, maybe?

Perhaps Alexander would've spoken to him, but the first guy had caught him looking and now strode over to him, the other boy in his tow.

"You look a bit lost," he said by way of introduction. Then he stuck out his hand. "I'm Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson."

Alexander grasped his hand.

"Mister Jefferson? Alexander Hamilton."

The other boy furrowed his brows, his eyes sweeping over Alexander.

"I don't seem to recall hearing your name before. You're not from the South, are you?"

Alex shook his head. "No, New York." That was fairly true, at least.

Next to him, the other boy sneezed, and Jefferson shot him an alarmed glance. The boy waved away his concern.

"James Madison," he said as Alexander turned towards him. He sneezed again. "Pleasure to meet you."

"You too," Alex muttered.

"Anyways," Jefferson continued, clearly anxious to get the conversation back on track. "As I was just saying to James: can you _believe_ they're making us come here? I mean, _everyone_ knows Ilvermorny is far superior to Hogwarts. This is just another way the Brits are trying to undermine us, mark my words!"

Madison's eyes darted nervously around the hall, but no one appeared to have taken notice of Jefferson's talk.

"No—" Alexander started, but caught himself. "I mean yes, it's terrible! The only thing they do is tax us relentlessly, and they don't even give us a fair representation in the government! Honestly, I'm sure there'll be a revolution in this century!"

As he spoke he felt a warm feeling spread in his breast. He believed in the revolution, and the injustices that the colonies faced made him rage like few other things did. Yet however unjust it may be, when the Royal Decree came out, declaring that every child in Britain—on the island, or from the colonies—had to attend an education at Hogwarts … it had far surpassed his wildest imaginations. Because a mandatory education also meant that it was free, and so to hell with if it was only because the British Ministry or the King wanted to stop the colonies from rebelling. Thanks to the decree, Alexander might have just found his shot at a better life.

Jefferson, however, clearly didn't think of it that way.

"Of course there will be," he said. "I just hope it's soon enough, so we can get out of these damp halls," he looked around with a disgusted scowl. Then his eyes returned to Alexander, as if something had just crossed his mind.

"So, what was your house at Ilvermorny?"

"I was—I was home-schooled." Alexander couldn't stop the edge that crept into his voice, nor the stammer. Jefferson eyebrows flicked upwards, but before he could answer a stern-looking witch entered the hall, and everyone immediately fell silent.

"Right," she said by way of greeting. "My name is Professor McGonagall. I teach transfiguration and I am the head of the house of Gryffindor. It is very unusual for Hogwarts to welcome students from America, but we are thrilled nonetheless. Now, I'm sure everyone knows how our sorting ceremony works, so we shall proceed without further ado. Though it is a pity that the rest of the school could not be brought here to see it." She took a deep breath. "Mary Adams."

It appeared that most of the others _did_ know what to expect, because a small girl—no more than fourteen—stumbled forward. She sat down on an old stool that Professor McGonagall gestured to, and then she placed a tattered and worn hat on the girl's head. After a moment, the hat _spoke_.

"Slytherin!" it bellowed, and the girl rose with a nervous smile. She moved to stand by the wall, and the witch called the next name. Then the next.  
Alexander felt his stomach churn as he watched the sorting take place. He'd read up on the houses, and yet he didn't know which one he'd rather be placed in.

"Aaron Burr."

A boy who looked about his own age stepped forward. Despite appearing only sixteen he was completely bald, and he carried himself in an nonthreatening way, as if trying to avoid attention. Alexander, who'd grown tired of worrying about what house an old clothing article would pick for him, entertained himself by trying to guess the house of the boy. Ravenclaw, perhaps.

To Alexander's great surprise, the hat called out the house he'd least expected.

"Slytherin!"

What?

But the boy only moved to stand beside the Adams girl.

Alex didn't have much time to ponder this peculiar guy, though, because soon enough McGonagall called his own name.

"Alexander Hamilton."

He walked forward, keeping his back straight and chin high. As he sat down the hat sank straight over his eyes.

 _Hmmm_ , whispered a soft voice in his ear. _Interesting_.

He was just about to ask what, exactly, was so interesting, when the hat spoke out loud. "Gryffindor!"

Forcing his face into a neutral expression, Alexander removed the hat and walked to stand by the wall, where he was greeted by soft applause from the two girls already there. He could feel the eyes of someone pierce his neck, so he kept his features under control, but a soft warmth spread in his chest as he took his place beside them. His housemates.

x

"Thomas Jefferson."

It was no surprise to him that the guy was sorted into Slytherin. He shot Alexander a glance as he stood up, a small, arrogant smirk lining his lips. Or a sneer. Alexander wasn't sure, but a sudden feeling if dislike came over him. If this guy even _dared_ to think he was superior for having been sorted into Slytherin—

McGonagall frowned down at her list. "Marie-Joseph Paul—"

"It's Lafayette." Alexander looked up to see the guy from before—the one who'd shown a sudden interest in France—striding towards the stool. His voice had a decided accent, and not an American one. The professor glared daggers at him, but he only flashed her a brilliant smile and sat down. She glanced down at her list again and pursed her lips tightly together, but she dropped the hat on his head.

"Gryffindor!"

This time Alexander joined the girls in their applause as the guy shot up from his chair and walked towards them.

" _Bonjour_ ," he murmured as he settled next to Alexander. His eyes gleamed. But before Alexander could respond he was interrupted by the hat calling out yet another Gryffindor.

This guy was shorter than the other had been, with curly hair and a face splattered with freckles. He was also—as Alexander couldn't help but notice—very attractive. The guy looked like he was about to say something to them, but a very stern look from the professor had him close his mouth again, instead only grinning at his future housemates. Alexander, unable to stop himself, smiled back.

x

The next student to pique Alexander's attention was the boy who'd clearly been Jefferson's friend. He, too, was sorted into Slytherin, and Alexander could hardly stifle his groan. Great. He glared at Jefferson, who was too busy subtly high-fiving his friend to notice.

Luckily the person after him, a huge guy by the name of Hercules Mulligan, got sorted into Gryffindor. Alex watched Jefferson's look sour as he watched the guy make his way over to them, and Alexander felt a smug sense of satisfaction as he noted that their corner was fuller than Jefferson's.

x

Professor McGonagall finished sorting the last student and rolled up her scroll. There'd only been one more addition to the Gryffindor corner, a young girl named Margarita Schuyler, who'd been part of a trio of girls all with the same name. Same surname, that was. By the look of things the two others had been her older sisters—Angelica and Elizabeth?—who'd been sorted into Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff respectively.

"Okay then," McGonagall said. "Now that you've all been sorted the head of your house will lead you to your common rooms where you'll also find your dormitories. Since you've arrived in the middle of the term your lessons will begin immediately tomorrow, eight a.m. sharp. Being new is no excuse for being tardy. Now, Gryffindors, if you'd come with me—"

She turned on her heel and walked out of the hall, so Alexander and the rest of his house shuffled after her. She led them up so many flights of stairs and dwindling corridors that Alexander started to wonder whether being lost was an excuse for being tardy, before she stopped in front of a portrait of a round woman in a pink dress.

She turned to address the group.

"This is the entrance to your common room. The Fat Lady guards it—" the portrait waved, and Alexander took a step back in shock—"all you have to do is speak the password. For now, it's 'tea crates'"

"Indeed it is," the portrait said and swung open. They clambered in, finding themselves in an open room with comfy-looking armchairs and a roaring fire. Alexander was quite positive it was the nicest room he'd ever been in.

"Girls, up the stairs to the right. Boys the same to the left. You'll find the doors marked with your appropriate years. Oh, and boys—" she regarded them with a stern face and glimmering eyes. "Don't try to sneak into the girls' room. I've warned you." With that cryptic statement she turned and climbed out of the portrait hole, leaving them to find their way to the dorms.

x

Their sleeping quarters were just as nice as the common room. Four big, four-poster beds with crimson bedding and curtains were already prepared for them, and they found that their luggage had been carried up for them. Alexander was sort of grateful for that. Even though he had very few belongings with him, he hadn't been very fond of the idea of climbing all those stairs again.

Once they'd all settled down Alexander heard the sound of curtains being drawn back. He followed suit, and saw Lafayette peeking out from his bed. They others, too, had pulled their curtains back. They all looked around at one another.

"Right," Lafayette grinned, "shall we introduced ourselves?"

* * *

Hello, and thank you so much for reading this! If anyone is here who've read my other stories, welcome back! And if this is the first time you've read anything I've written, hi! I hope you'll enjoy it. My plan is for this to be a shorter Hamilton/Harry Potter crossover. I'm aiming for 6-7 chapters, but I'm not completely sure about the length yet. My intention is for it to be set during the time of the American revolution, but for simplicity I'll keep the teachers we all know and love from the modern time of Harry Potter. I hope you agree with my choice of houses for our characters (and if you don't, please let me know! I always love to hear how other people would sort characters from other fandoms), and that you'll want to stick around to hear about what they'll get up to. Thanks for reading, and take care!


	2. Laurens On Your Side

**Laurens On Your Side**

* * *

"I suppose I'll start," Lafayette said. "As you might've heard our dear Professor try to say, I'm Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette." He paused to grin at them. "But I go by Lafayette, or Laf for short."

Alexander snorted. "That's a relief."

"Very much so," the boy named Hercules said. "But how come you're here? No offence, but your name doesn't sound very English."

Lafayette's grin grew wider. He leaned back and put his arms behind his head.

"Let's just say," he drawled, "that you British people have _very_ sloppy security systems."

"We're not British!"

Lafayette raised his hands in surrender at the unanimous shout.

" _Merde_. Okay, fine. _The_ British then."

The boy, whose name Alex still didn't know, nodded in satisfaction. "Better."

"So," Lafayette continued, his little smirk returning, "I heard that a bunch of Americans would come here, I decided that I was tired of Beauxbatons, and so I snuck on the train and put my name on the list of students."

A stunned silence filled the room.

"You … snuck on the train and admitted yourself to the school because you didn't like your own?" Hercules Mulligan finally said.

"Yep."

"How did you not get sorted into Slytherin?"

Lafayette shrugged, the grin still not leaving his face. "Don't know. But I'm here to bless you all with some French elegance."

"It's a pleasure to have you here," Hercules said, rolling his eyes. "Well, if you're done I suppose I'll introduce myself. I'm Hercules Mulligan, but I usually go by my surname due to connections to a certain Greek hero." He grimaced. "Yeah."

"Nice to meet you," Lafayette said. "And you're American?"

"Yeah, I think we all are." Mulligan paused to look around at the other two, who nodded in confirmation. "On that note, where are all the British kids?"

Alexander shrugged, sharing a glance with the unnamed boy.

"Dunno," the guy said. "Maybe they have their own dormitory."

"Wouldn't be surprised," Mulligan muttered. "Anyways, who are you two?"

They looked at each other.

"Do you want to start or ..?" Alex asked.

"Yeah okay, sure." He cleared his throat. "I'm John Laurens. Eh, I'm from South Carolina, and I like turtles." He shrugged. "Hi."

"Hello," Alexander said as the two others waved. "Pleasure to meet you."

A second passed, and he became aware that the others were all looking at him.

"Oh, yeah. I'm Alexander. Alexander Hamilton. Raised in New York, and now I'm here." He gave them an awkward thumbs up. Great introduction, Alex. Real smooth.

But the others just laughed.

"Good to meet you, Alexander," John said.

"I'm sure we'll all be great friends," Lafayette said, stretching his arms over his head. "Well, I hope so, since I'll have to live with you for a whole year regardless."

Hercules snorted. "Same, man."

John yawned.

"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Alexander, involuntarily, yawned too.

"Look at the two drowsy kittens," Lafayette smirked. "We should let them have their beauty sleep."

"Kittens?" Alexander protested.

"Yeah, come on," John added. "We're, like, mighty lions."

Lafayette looked at them. Then at Mulligan. Then back to them.

"Yes. Kittens," he decided.

Alexander rolled his eyes at him as Mulligan burst into laughter.

"Amazing," he said, drying tears from the corners of his eyes. "Sure, let the fuzzies have their sleep."

John, like the mighty lion he'd proclaimed himself, stuck out his tongue at the two boys and slammed his curtain shut. Through the fabric that now effectively shielded John and himself from the others Alexander could still hear muffled laughter. He felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards.

"Very dignified, cat-boy."

"Not you too," John moaned, falling down on his back and drawing his pillow over his face. "I regret ever coming here!"

Alexander pouted. "Awwww."

John, peeking out from his pillow, glared at him.

"Stop with the puppy eyes."

Alexander hung his head, forcing down the laughter that was bubbling in his throat. He kept his eyes on John.

Finally the boy caved.

"Fine!" He flung away the pillow and sat up. "I don't _totally_ hate being here."

"Yay," Alexander said. He was about to say something mor, but was distracted by the way John's hair stuck out at all angles from having being mauled by his pillow. "Your hair's a mess."

John sighed, running his fingers through it. "I know. It always is."

"But, like, in a good way."

John looked up at him, and Alexander's breath caught in his throat.

"I mean—!" he started. "It's looks okay, I didn't—"

Thankfully though, John just blushed and looked down.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

Alexander cringed internally. Stupid. Even if John hadn't seemed offended or disgusted, that had been very, very stupid—

"Guys!" came Mulligans voice through the curtains. "I thought you were tired? You don't sound like you're sleeping very much." His voice was lined with laughter.

"Shut up!" Alexander called back.

"Your business, I guess."

Alex buried his face in his hands, a long groan escaping from his lips.

"Holy cows, we'll have to live with those the whole term aren't we?" John muttered.

Alex, letting his hands drop, sighed. "I'm afraid so."

John mumbled something that might've been a curse, or a very intricate hex.

"Protect me from them," he sighed, crawling down under his covers. "I'm going to sleep."

Alexander laughed, and even though John didn't open his eyes, he smiled a little.

x

The new day dawned with clear skies and approaching classes. Just as Alexander had feared, the school was a dwindling maze of stairs and corridors, and they got lost twice just on their way to breakfast. But their fellow Gryffindors—who, due to alleged space issues, were indeed housed in another dormitory—were helpful enough. The real issue were the lessons.

Even though Alexander had done his best to keep up with his studies, and even though he'd read his books from cover to cover before he started, he was still behind the others. The theoretical work went fine enough and he was quite sure that he could make do with it, but the spells … At the end of his transfiguration class he quickly shoved his still unchanged hamster into Professor McGonagall's box. And as if seeing it run around the goblets—his classmates' successfully transfigured rodents—wasn't bad enough, she also gave him extra homework.

"Learn the spell, mister Hamilton," she said stiffly before moving on.

History of Magic went better, however, and Alexander managed to score five whole points to Gryffindor for remembering all the key dates in the gigant wars. John, who sat next to him, dunked him in the back.

"Great work, Alex," he whispered. The compliment—and the nickname—sent a small shock through Alexander, who grinned happily at John.

x

His bright mood was dulled slightly at their last lesson though. Alexander frowned down into his cauldron, feeling the piercing eyes of professor Snape bore into his neck. A mysterious brown-green sludge simmered inside it, and he desperately flipped through his book in an attempt to find out what to do.

 _Add five chopped shrivelled figs_

What the hell was a shrivelled fig?

He desperately rummaged through the scattered ingredients on his table, trying not to breath in the fumes emerging from his cauldron. None of ingredients looked like a fig.

Just as panic began to take hold of him he felt something bump into his shoulder.

"Whoops!" Lafayette said as the contents on his cutting board spilled into Alexander's potion.

"Shoot, now I'll have to chop those figs all again." He sighed deeply, as if he'd just seen all his hopes and dreams shatter before him. Then he gathered himself up, quietly mumbled "Stir three times, counter-clockwise," winked at Alexander, and pranced off to the ingredients cupboard. Alexander gaped after him for a second before remembering himself and hastily returning to his work. At the lesson end, his liquid was more red than purple, but at least he had a potion to present.

Bless Lafayette.

x

Alexander was hauled up in a corner of the common room, focusing intensely on the mouse before him. The other boys had already gone to bed, but Alexander had left them under the pretence of having to go to the bathroom. Instead, he'd snuck out to gather the mouse Professor McGonagall had promised him. Now, past midnight, he was still in the common room, frantically trying to turn it into a goblet.

" _Vera Verto_ ," he muttered, tapping his wand to the mouse. " _Vera Verto!"_ A few sparks flew out of his wand, having absolutely no effect on the mouse. It squeaked a bit.

"Alex?"

He spun around, seeing John standing on the stairs leading up to the dorms.

"Oh, hi."

The boy blinked drowsily at him. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?"

"Oh—I'm just … studying." He quickly tried to stuff the mouse into his pocket. Not quick enough, though.

"Is that a hamster?" John's face was the epitome of bewilderment, and he walked across the room to Alexander. Before he could react John grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand from his pocket, revealing the mouse. It looked—if a mouse could do that—very done with the whole endeavour.

"Alex, what on Earth are you doing?"

Alexander stared at him in despair for a moment, multiple thoughts racing through his brain. He didn't want John to know that he was an uneducated orphan essentially living on the streets. He didn't want to be shunned and cast out, not now. Not when he might've finally found a way to get his life in order.

But he was caught in John's stare and his grip, a mouse in his hand, and no clue how he'd make it through tomorrow's transfiguration lesson. He couldn't make a potion without help and the moment they moved past theory in charms he'd fail that too. He was, in other words, screwed.

Alex felt his shoulders slump as his knees gave way and he fell down in his armchair, John's hand sliding off his wrist. And then, in a low voice and without looking up, he explained himself to John. Explained that he was stuck in the common room with a mouse because he couldn't cast a simple spell, because he had no education, no magical training, and no way of surviving the term.

John listened, his eyes never leaving Alexander's face. When he stopped speaking he felt a warmth on his hands, and he looked up from his lap to see John grasping them in his own.

"Alexander," he said softly. He looked into Alexander's eyes, the firelight reflecting in John's irises and making them sparkled with a soft green sheen. "It will be alright."

He said it with such conviction, Alexander almost believed him.

Then John rose from his chair, pulling Alexander with him.

"It's a soft 'V,' almost like and 'F,'" he explained. "And the hand moments are sharp taps, like so—" he moved his hand in the air, mimicking casting the spell. "Try it."

Alexander, swallowing down the clump in his throat, grabbed the mouse and raised his wand again.

" _Vera verto_!" A fine mist sprayed from his wand, but nothing happened.

"You need to move your arm from the elbow." John took his hand, moving it as he explained. His fingers were very soft. "Try it again."

So Alexander tried. And tried. And tried. With John's help he cast the spell again and again, until finally a soft mist shot out from his wand, engulfing the mouse and forming into a simple water goblet.

John jumped up, clapping his hands. "Amazing!"

Alexander looked in shock at the goblet in front of him. "I … did it."

"You did!" John moved towards him, but seemed to catch himself and simply patted him on the shoulder. "Congratulations."

x

"Thank you," Alexander said as they wandered up to their beds again. "You saved my butt."

"No worries," John mumbled. "I'm sure you'd managed without me."

"I really wouldn't have. I'm completely lost."

John stopped to look at him. They stood just outside their door, and the stairs were dark but for a flicker of light coming up from the common room.

"You'll be fine," John said, his voice low and urgent. "You just learned a whole new spell in a few hours. That's amazing. And—and we'll help you. Me and the others. It will be okay, I promise."

Alexander felt his throat close up.

"I—" he choked up. "Thank you," he whispered.

John just smiled, his face a shadow in the dark. "Any time."

x

It wasn't until Alexander was snuggled up in his bed, that he realised that he' never asked John _why_ he'd been down in the common room after midnight. But by then the room was already filled by soft snoring, so Alexander had no choice but to turn over and try to fall asleep. And he did, warm and comfortable, and feeling like he might survive the year after all.

* * *

 _Merde_ — Shit

Hello! I hope you're having a great day/night, and that you enjoyed this chapter. I'm trying a new thing with the triple x's to indicate a new section of text, since the site won't let me do paragraphs the way I normally would. I'm not sure if I like the look of it though, so if you find it annoying (or if you like it) please let me know so I can change it in future chapters! Anyways, have a good rest of the day and take care!

EDIT: I realized that I can just put a single x on the side instead of three in the middle to get a wider paragraph break (can you tell I'm not in Ravenclaw?) so I'm going with that instead. Sorry for any confusion, my layout keeps changing when I move my documents to the site but I think I have it sorted now.


	3. Corridor Battle 1

**Corridor Battle #1**

* * *

"So, what class do we have?"

Alexander was vaguely aware that Lafayette had said something, and he was also quite sure that Mulligan had given him some kind of response. He had, however, not registered either of these, because his attention was fully focused on John.

John, who was currently pouring himself a cup of tea for breakfast, and whom Alexander watched because the teapot was quite full and he looked as if he might spill the hot liquid all over himself very soon. In fact, Alexander could see his hands trembling as he attempted to lower the pot without losing control. That was, of course, the only reason Alex was watching him. It had nothing to do with the fact that John's hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail and that strands of it was falling into his eyes, or that the sun shining down from the ceiling cast his face in soft gold, or that the sleeves of his shirt were pushed up to his elbows—which was really quite an attractive look.

No, Alexander was just concerned about his tea-pouring skills.

"—lexander? Alexander!"

"Hmmm?" he said, breaking out of his trance-like state. He looked up, only to almost knock over his own cup of coffee, and found both Lafayette and Mulligan looking expectantly at him. "What?"

"I asked," Lafayette sighed, "if you know what class we have now?"

"Oh! Um—"Alexander dug around in the pockets of his robe, procuring a worn paper. Although it was only Thursday and they'd only had three days of classes so far, he'd still found himself relying heavily on the schedule.

"Well, I have Arithmancy, which means that you do too. But I don't know about the two of you." He gestured with his head towards Mulligan and John, the latter now having finished pouring his tea.

Mulligan groaned a bit before fishing around in his pockets for his own schedule. There were only a few classes that the four of them didn't have together—which was good, because they had found that they'd become fast friends. Arithmancy, though, was one of those classes.

"I have Care of Magical Creatures," Mulligan eventually declared. He looked up to meet John's eyes. "Which probably means that you do as well, right?"

John nodded, and Alexander felt a small pang in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't quite sure why though, so he decided to just ignore it and continue to eat his breakfast. He most certainly didn't want to take care of any animals, not when he'd discovered that Arithmancy was one of those subjects that he had a natural knack for. That, and that it involved very little practical magic and a lot more books.

With that being said, he still found that as he watched Mulligan and John walk across the grounds to get to their lesson he wondered if he'd really picked the right subjects. However, there wasn't as if he could do anything about it now, so instead he turned and followed Lafayette down the many corridors that led to the Arithmancy classrooms. He was thankful that he, at least, had also picked the subject, and that he wasn't left to find his way there alone.

As things were, they only got lost twice. One of those, however, proved a bit more eventful than it should have been.

x

"All I'm saying is that Gryffindors are prideful hotheads without a single coherent thought in their brains, unless that though is about how much better than everyone else they are."

Lafayette had walked a little ahead of him, and as such he didn't immediately stop at the voices coming out from the adjacent corridor. But Alexander did, and found that the voice belonged to none other than Mister Thomas Jefferson, who came sauntering into his view flanked by Burr and Madison.

"Excuse you?" he said, which maybe wasn't the smartest thing to do, but ever since the Sorting he'd had a sneaking suspicion that Jefferson's world view might be just a little Slytherin-centered, and that perhaps he needed to be brought back to reality.

Jefferson however, only smirked a little as he spotted him, standing very still in the busy hallway.

"Excuse me?" he repeated, "why, I don't think I've said anything that would require me to be excused."

A fire roared to life inside Alexander's eyes at the obvious challenge; at the pure arrogance of Jefferson's words, of his stance.

"No? Well perhaps if your head wasn't shoved so far up your ass you would have heard what you just said."

The other boy recoiled at that, clearly not having expected any form of resistance. It lasted only for a moment, though, and soon enough his smirk was back.

"That's some strong words coming from a Gryffindor. I didn't think your house knew how to piece together such long, complicated sentences."

"And I though your house prided itself on having, quote-on-quote, "high standards," yet they let you in."

A soft "Oooh," spread through the crowd that Alexander only now realized had formed around them. Well, it was too late to do anything about that.

Jefferson's eyes flickered around before returning to Alexander.

"Yes, I got in. I notice that you didn't. Does that, perhaps, say anything about yourself?"

Alexander scowled at him. "I think I'd rather throw myself into the lake than be accepted into your house. I mean, your dormitory is literally in the dungeons, isn't it?" He seriously hoped it was, at least, or else he was about to look like a total fool. "Doesn't that say something about how much of a shit everyone _actually_ gives about you?"

The other boy's eyes shot daggers.

"Watch your mouth," he snarled. "It's getting as dirty as I suspect your blood is."

Alex raised his eyebrows. "That's the best you can think of? Well you see, a little dirt is expected when you actually work for things in your life. Instead of having house-elves do everything for you."

"I'm sure you're not insinuating that I'm lazy—" Jefferson began, his voice dangerously low.

"Oh, but I think that I am," Alexander retorted. "After all, we all know who's _really_ doing the work in your fancy family-mansions."

Scattered laughter rose from around them.

"Don't you dare insult my family. Apologize. Now!"

Perhaps that would've been smart, but Alexander didn't feel as though his Ravenclaw traits were very prominent in that moment. More so his Gryffindor side; Gryffindor, the one proper family he'd actually had during his life.

"I can't apologize, because it's true."

Jefferson's jaw dropped, and Alexander took that as his cue to leave. He sketched a bow, cocked his head and said, "If you find some of those complicated sentences you speak of, let me know."

Then he all but ran down the corridor, grabbed Lafayette's wrist and dashed to the safety of his Arithmancy classroom.

x

Since someone had thought that a double hour of classes would be a great way to start of a Thursday morning, the four boys didn't actually see each other until lunch. By then Alexander's fear of being hexed by Jefferson had subsided a little, and he let Lafayette recount the tale to the other two as they made their way outside—because after a double-hour of Arithmancy, the last thing he and Lafayette wanted to do was stay indoors. Which was why they found themselves sprawled upon the green lawns outside the castle mere minutes later, doing very little but watching the clouds and occasionally talking.

"Mind if we sit here?"

Alexander looked up from his half-slumber to see two girls—a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff—standing in front of him.

"Yeah, sure," John, the only one of them awake enough to think about giving a response, said. He glanced at the other three, but since neither of them protested nor agreed he simply shrugged. "Go ahead."

"Thank you," the Hufflepuff said and took a seat on the ground, just as Alexander realized that he should probably sit up and as such did exactly that.

"Yeah, there was some general chaos going on over there—" the Ravenclaw sat down next to Alexander, vaguely waving to an area across the lawn— "that we didn't want to get involved in."

"Well you're most welcome to be here," Mulligan said politely. "I'm Mulligan, and this is John, Lafayette, and Alexander." He pointed at them in turn, and they mumbled their greetings. The two girls flashed smiles at them.

"My name is Angelica Schuyler," the Ravenclaw said, looking at Lafayette and Alexander. "I've seen you two in Arithmancy, of course."

"Oh, yeah," Alexander said, realizing that there was indeed something familiar about her. Angelica smiled as the second girl inclined her head to them.

"Elizabeth Schuyler," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Schuyler?" John repeated, his eyes widening markantly. Alexander shot him a somewhat worried glance, which he didn't seem to notice.

"My sister," Angelica clarified.

John let out a noise of understanding, and yet Alexander got the feeling that it wasn't quite their relation to each other that had caused him to react. But he didn't get the chance to ask him what it actually was, since Mulligan continued the conversation.

"Don't you have another sister as well, a Gryffindor?"

Angelica's attention snapped to him. "We do, actually. Peggy. How did you know?"

Mulligan coughed into his hand, suddenly stumbling over his words.

"I, eh—No particular reason."

"What's this?" Lafayette asked happily. "Why haven't I heard of this before?"

Mulligan shot him an angry glare. "Because it's nothing!"

But Angelica didn't seem to think that it was, and was indeed looking at him quite intensely.

"Seriously, how do you know her?"

Mulligan sighed. "She hit me with a Stunning Spell."

Lafayette fell backwards with laughter, and even Elizabeth couldn't hide the smile that broke out across her face. "Sorry, what?"

"I think she was practising it or something," Mulligan muttered. "There was a bunch of fifth years in the common room as I was walking through and— _BAM_. Hit me in the back."

"So you got hexed by a fifth year," Alexander summarised for him.

Mulligan scratched his neck. "Something like that, yeah."

"Sorry about that, I guess," Angelica laughed, stretching out her legs, causing them to brush against Alexander's. "Peggy can be a bit … wild."

"A bit," Elizabeth agreed. "But she's a sweetheart, really."

Angelica rolled her eyes. "You think everyone is a sweetheart, 'Liza. I'm not say that she isn't, but you know."

"I don't think everyone is a sweetheart," her sister protested.

Angelica gave the boys a meaningful glance. "Right."

x

All too soon, however, the bell for afternoon classes chimed. Before they ran off to their respective classes Angelica rather hastily suggested they'd meet up again during the weekend, since to her surprise she'd actually found the boys to be quite good conversation. She didn't say that last part out loud, though. Regardless, they accepted, and she called out a cheerful "See you on Saturday!" before disappearing up the stairs to the castle. With a smile and a soft, "Goodbye," Elizabeth vanished too, leaving the four alone again.

"Wow." John was the first to speak, turning to them with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "I can't believe we just met the Schuyler Sisters."

Alexander frowned at him. "You knew them? I didn't get that impression."

John shook his head as they began walking again. "Not personally, no. But _everyone_ knows the Schuylers. They're like, one of the biggest pure-blood families there is."

Mulligan glanced at him. "Aren't you pure-blood too, though? Why so starstruck?"

"Okay, yeah, but not like them. The Schuylers are up there with the Malfoys and Blacks and Lestranges. And they are _rich_."

Lafayette chuckled softly. "Sounds like someone is developing a little crush."

John glared at him. "I'm not crushing on them."

"Are you sure?" Lafayette smirked at him.

"Quite," John replied drily. "But come on, they're like, celebrities."

Lafayette turned to Mulligan and Alexander. "Had _you_ heard of them before?"

"No," they admitted in unison.

"And neither had I," Lafayette declared. "So all I'm saying is—"

"But you're French," John groaned, "of course you haven't."

Lafayette seemed to falter a little at that. "Okay, but—"

"No buts," John decided. "Come on, we'll be late otherwise."

"Fine." Lafayette allowed the subject to be dropped. "Eh, what class do even have?"

"You are aware that you have a schedule of your own, right?" Mulligan said mildly.

Lafayette turned to him with wide eyes. "No, really?"

Rolling his eyes at them, Alexander pulled out his schedule for the second time that day

"We have—" he scanned the rows— "Charms!" He cried out the subject with dismay. "Fuc—" from across the hall he suddenly caught sight of a teacher, and quickly resorted to a much softer "damn".

Mulligan shrugged. "It's not that bad. I mean, it's not Potions or anything."

"I like Potions," Lafayette protested.

"That's only 'cause you're good at it though," John added with a small grin. "And it's kinda, yuck, you know?"

Lafayette grumbled something inaudible at that, which had Mulligan looking incredibly pleased with himself. Alexander, however, accidentally caught John's eye, and immediately concluded that John had picked up on what the others hadn't. Namely that it wasn't because it was disgusting that Alexander disliked Charms, but rather for another reason entirely.

"You'll be fine," he mumbled to Alexander, too quiet for anyone else to hear. "Really."

"Uhu," Alexander said, with slightly more conviction than he actually had—which still wasn't a lot.

x

"Right, Gryffindors, Slytherins!" Professor Flitwick looked around the room with much enthusiasm. Alexander couldn't say that he felt the same, as up until now he'd conveniently forgotten that this was one of the classes they shared with Slytherin. "Brits, Americans, welcome to Charms!"

There were some polite mumbling at that, but most of the room didn't seem particularly interested in the lessons' introduction.

"Today, we'll finally move on to the practical part of this subject!" That caught some attention, the majority of students brightening at the prospect of getting to do something that wasn't writing. Alexander, however, felt as if a lead weight had been dropped into his stomach.

"We'll start of slow, like a nice warm up after summer." Flitwick smiled out at the classroom. "And, er, so I can get the gist of what they taught at Ilvermorny."

Most of what he said, though, was lost in the excited chatter that had started up in the room. The professor waved his hands around, trying to regain their attention.

"Guys? Guys!"

The room settled into a sort of less audible chaos. He looked around in slight despair, before clearly deciding that it was the best he was going to get.

"So, we'll be practising the Banishing Charm, _Depulso_." He cleared his throat. "Since most of you will have learned it in year four I'm sure it will go swimmingly. Now, I have pillows up here that you can practise on—"

The rest of his sentence was completely drowned out by people getting up and moving towards his seemed to take that as his cue to stop talking and jumped down from the pile of books he been stood on.

Alexander felt movement at his sides and realized that all three of his friends had gotten to their feet. He stood, too, feeling a little bit like he'd missed out on something important. Like, the part of the lesson where they were actually taught how to conjure the spell.

Sadly, as he realised a minute later when he was back at his desk with a pillow, his wand, and no clue what he was supposed to do, there didn't seem to be such a part of the lesson.

But for the second time that week, John came to his rescue.

"Do you know what this spell is?" he said, quietly enough to not be heard over the general noise that filled the classroom. As much as he hated to admit it, Alexander shook his head.

"Just, eh—Just watch me."

So Alexander watched as he raised his wand, quickly moved it through the air and muttered, " _Depulso_."

A white jet shot out, effectively sending the pillow flying off their desk.

"Right." Alexander swallowed, and raised his own wand. Mimicking John's hand movement he uttered the spell.

Much to his dismay, but not surprise, nothing happened.

"Try again?" John suggested, moving closer to watch his technique. "It looked alright."

Alexander cleared his throat, lifting his wand again.

" _Depulso_. _Depulso_. _Depulso_!"

A burst of sparks flew out, not doing much except lifting Alexander's spirits a little.

"Did you see—" he began excitedly. He was cut off by a voice that sounded much less impressed by his achievement.

"Well, well, well," the voice said, and Alex found the smile wiped right off his face as he looked up into the face of Thomas Jefferson. "What's this? You can't even cast a simple Banishing Charm?"

The way his lips were pulled up at the corners could hardly be described as a smile, but perhaps a sneer. It was clear that he hadn't forgotten the humiliation he'd faced that morning. Even worse, the reason that Jefferson stood in front of them appeared to be that he'd retrieved his pillow from the ground, which was _very_ far from where the Slytherins sat.

"I—" Alexander started.

Jefferson's eyebrows flew into his forehead as wicked delight began to glow in his eyes.

"So you really can't?" he exclaimed. "I mean, really? Your average fourteen-year-old can—"

"Leave him alone," John spat.

Jefferson's eyes snapped to John, taking him in. "Sorry?"

"I said leave him alone." John's hands were curled into tight fists. "Seriously, it's the first minutes of the class he can—"

Jefferson's eyebrows moved—if that even was possible—higher up.

"I see you've got a ... _friend_ , Hamilton," he said casually, his eyes drifting lazily over the two of them. And it was just then that Alexander realised just how close together they were sat.

John shot away from him, his face flushing scarlet. "I—We—" he spluttered.

Jefferson only smirked at them, his dark eyes sparkling with a kind of amused malice.

"Don't let me disturb you," he sing-sang, before prancing away, leaving behind a furiously blushing John and an Alexander that found that this time, the clump in his stomach had very little to do with Charms.

x

"What the hell did he want now?" Lafayette asked the moment they got out of the classroom. He looked at them in startled confusion, because from where he and Mulligan had sat they hadn't been able to see much of what had happened, and had spent most of the lesson in quiet befuddlement.

"He decided to be an ass," Alexander grumbled. "Again."

"A huge ass," John, whose cheeks had returned to normal again, added. Then he took a deep breath and gave the two others a run-down of what had happened, conveniently leaving out the tiny part at the end.

"That's low," Mulligan growled once he'd finished. Although John was perhaps the only one who truly understood how cruel the remark had been, Mulligan and Lafayette now knew enough about his past to have the general idea. "Like, really low."

"Agreed," Lafayette added. "Do you want us to hex him or something?" His face brightened. "We could do that."

"No," Alex mumbled. "No I'm fine. Thanks, though."

x

The truth was that wasn't really fine, but not because of his wounded pride. He also felt that while hexing Jefferson was certainly tempting, it wouldn't do much to better the situation.

Because while his snarky remarks about his magical abilities had been painful, Alexander was fairly sure that Jefferson wouldn't considered a degrading comment sufficient payment for the embarrassment Alexander had caused him that morning. Wouldn't consider it sufficient at all.

He wasn't sure how things had gone downhill so fast, but Alexander was pretty certain that after no more than four days at Hogwarts he'd manage to make quite a powerful enemy. An enemy who knew at least five times the number of spells that he did.

All in all, he was starting to wonder whether keeping his tongue in check might have been smarter.

* * *

Hello! As always I hope you liked the chapter. A quick PSA: All the houses have their strengths and weakness, and just because a character may be slightly biased for/against a house doesn't mean that I personally have that opinion (aka, I don't hate Slytherin, much love for all my snakes out there). Now that I've said that, have a great day and take care!


	4. A Moment Alone By the Lake

**A Moment Alone By the Lake**

* * *

Despite Alexander fearing the worst regarding his newfound enemy, nothing terrible happened the following day. Well, they were assigned a two foot long essay for Transfiguration homework, but nothing worse than that.

"Anyone want to play Exploding Snap?" John suggested. The four boys were curled up in the common room, having collapsed in the puffy armchairs as soon as the week's classes were over.

"I'm good," Lafayette said. "I'm rather fond of my eyebrows."

"I'm fine too," Mulligan mumbled, having almost doused off where he was sprawled over the sofa.

"Awww," John complained. At the noise, Alexander looked up from his parchment. He was working on his essay and had had no plans to leave it before he was done. But the fact was that he'd already written five more inches than was required, and John was pouting in a way that looked almost heartbreakingly sad ...

"Okay," he said, putting his quill down. "I'll play, if you teach me how to."

John brightened instantly and gestured for Alexander to come over to him. Then he shuffled the deck of cards he'd been toying with and dealt their hands. Alexander took his cards, readying himself for what was to come.

"So, the rules are quite simple—"

x

Alexander got the hang of the game pretty fast and he and John spent a good portion of the evening playing. Occasionally Lafayette or Mulligan would watch them, but for the most part they were left alone. The light outside the tower's window gradually diminished, until finally Lafayette yawned widely.

"Right, I'm going to bed now."

Mulligan looked up. "I'll come with you," he said. Then as he rose he added, "Don't forget that we're meeting the Schuylers tomorrow."

"Won't," Alexander replied, already shuffling his cards again. John grunted something similar, his focus more on their game than on the conversation.

If they'd been paying more attention, John and Alexander might've noticed the smug smirk Mulligan shot them as he left the common room. As they didn't, they remained blissfully unaware of it.

The two played another three rounds or so, but after a particularly violent explosion that had Alexander thinking Lafayette might've been right in worrying about his eyebrows, they decided to stop.

"So," John said, pocketing the cards but making no attempt to get up, "how's your first week at Hogwarts been?"

Alexander thought about it for a second, realizing that he hadn't taken much time to reflect on things since he got there.

"It's been … nice, I suppose. I mean I can't say that I love all the subjects, but it's great to actually be able to learn things properly." He didn't mention that it was also great to have a warm bed to sleep in each night, and the knowledge that he'd get three proper meals a day. "And it's been great to get to know you guys." He fiddled with the hem of his sleeve.

"Yeah, I'm really happy with our dorm, actually," John agreed. "And it's not so different as I thought it would be. It's not like home, but I like it."

John's words stirred something in Alexander, and he hummed absentmindedly. Now that he thought about it … Hogwarts felt more like a home to him that anywhere else he'd been in years.

Unfortunately though, thoughts of home and houses brought his mind to more undesired places.

"What?" John asked, seeing the look on his face.

"Well, I just thought that this place would be a lot better if only we could get rid of that Jefferson guy."

John grimaced. "Let's not talk about him, right? I mean I like most of the people I've met here but he can absolutely fuck off."

Alexander laughed. "Agreed."

They fell silent for a while, the general chatter of the common room a calming background noise in their ears.

Eventually Alexander asked, "What's been your favourite subject, then?"

John shrugged, folding his legs under him as he leaned against the side of his chair. "Care of Magical Creatures is pretty cool, there's these awesome color-shifting turtles they showed us."

"That's pretty neat."

"Uhu, they're super rare too." His face split up into a smile as he spoke. "I'll show them to you some time."

Alex smiled. "Certainly. You sure your professor would appreciate you stealing the prized turtles though?"

"Maybe not. I'll just have to sneak them out."

Alexander snorted. "Yeah. If only you had like, an invisibility cloak or something."

"I could definitely steal a turtle without an invisibility cloak."

"Sure you could." Even Alexander wasn't sure if he'd been sarcastic or not. John rolled his eyes.

"How about you, then? What's your favourite subject?"

"Not Charms, that's for sure." Alexander bit his lip. "Would I sound like a total nerd if I said Arithmancy?

"No," John assured him. "Eh, what even _is_ Arithmancy?"

"Well, it's to do with numbers and numerology. You use number charts and stuff to make predictions about the future."

John nodded. "That sounds very fun." Then he softly added, "Nerd."

"Hey!"

"I didn't say anything." His grin told other stories, though. Alexander scoffed at him.

"I'll pretend like I'll believe you."

"And I'll pretend like I believe that you believe me."

Alexander groaned, letting his head backwards. "You're giving me a migraine."

John chuckled softly, watching him slump like that for a moment. The firelight flickered over them, now the main light source against the dark of night. Then John got to his feet and extended a hand to Alexander.

"Sleep?"

The boy made a noise that might've been a yes. Then, gripping John's hand, he pulled himself up. As he did so his eyes fell on his still rolled-out parchment.

"I never finished my essay!"

John shook his head in disbelief. "You'll be fine. I haven't even started."

"But—"

"Alex I will literally drag you by your neck and physically push you into bed if you start doing your homework now."

And so Alexander, trying to ignore the slightly too visual image that sentence had given him, followed John to their dorm.

x

The next morning dawned warm and clear, and the sun was shining merrily as the four boys made their way out to the school grounds. They'd run into Angelica at breakfast and had decided to meet by the lake at noon. It was, after all, much to beautiful to be inside.

"Over here!" called a voice.

Eliza was smiling and waving at them from a shady spot beneath a tree, where she sat accompanied by two others. As they made their way over to her they careful not to step too close to the water. There were rumours that the lake housed a giant squid, as if someone had put the Loch Ness Monster in there. Which didn't really seem appropriate for a school full of kids, but you could never be too sure.

"Hello," Alexander said as they reached them.

"Good morning." Angelica smiled, gesturing for them to take a seat. She glanced at her sisters. "Well, you've already met me and 'Liza, but this is—"

"I'm Peggy," said the third girl. "Nice to meet you." Her gaze turned to Mulligan, and she giggled. "Though I suppose we've already met."

He cleared his throat. "I ... suppose we have."

She smirked slightly at him.

"Anyways," Angelica broke in. "We brought some snacks for lunch."

"Oh," John said his eyes going round. "That's very nice."

A sneaking suspicion entered Alexander's mind, and he glanced around at his friends.

"Did we ... bring _anything_?" he asked.

"Nope," Lafayette declared. "Probably should've done that."

Angelica pinched the bridge of her nose. " _Gryffindors_. Eh, no offence, Pegs."

Eliza puffed her gently with her elbow. "I don't recall it being your Ravenclaw self who actually got the food, either."

"Well … "

"Hang on a minute," Alexander said. "How did you get the food?" It wasn't only because they were all forgetful that neither of the boys had brought lunch, but also because there wasn't actually any easy way to acquire a full meal outside the Great Hall.

"Yeah Eliza," Peggy drawled, "how _did_ you get the food?"

Now it was the Hufflepuff's turn to look embarrassed.

"House secrets?" she tried hopefully. Angelica snorted.

"Yeah, right."

"There might be an entrance to the kitchen pretty close to my common room?"

Lafayette looked aghast. "You stole food from the kitchen?"

"I haven't confessed to anything!"

Mulligan chuckled. "And here I was, thinking Hufflepuffs were supposed to be the ones who valued honest work and not lying."

"It's not lying if you don't tell anyone! Besides, are you gonna refuse the food just because it's not served in the Great Hall?"

He looked shocked. "What? Of course not!"

Eliza smirked. "Then I suggest you stop being nosy about how I acquired it."

"Someone's found her tongue," Peggy muttered. "But all this talk's made me hungry. You guys invited my for lunch, not a court case."

Eliza clicked her tongue, but uncovered a basket that had been leaning against the tree, hidden from sight by the girls' robes.

"Here you go then."

With a wide grin, Peggy drew a sandwich from the basket before passing it along to Angelica. Perhaps a bit sad for Mulligan, who, as the one sitting on her other side, would now get the basket last.

"Right, we got drinks too," Angelica remembered. From yet another basket she procured two glass bottles, and threw one at Alex. "Catch!"

"Fucking he—" he began, lunging for it before it smashed into the ground. "Gee, thanks."

Angelica made an impressed face. "That was pretty good. You'd make a decent Chaser."

"Thanks?"

"Hello?" Peggy waved her hand in front of Angelica's eyes. "There are more people here, could we get some drinks too?"

"You have the patience of a three-year-old," Angelica retorted, but resigned to handing out the remaining bottles. "Just saying."

"Whatever."

x

The lunch continued in a pleasant fashion. Alexander, John and Lafayette engaged in conversation with Angelica and Eliza, regarding the deeper meaning behind Hogwarts' houses and whether the British or the American school had the better sorting system. Neither of them were completely sure what the remaining two, Peggy and Mulligan, were talking about, but they seemed happy too

"Hey, look!" Angelica suddenly exclaimed. "Did you see?"

"What?" Lafayette twisted around.

She pointed out to the lake. "There, in the water."

"I think I saw it too!" Alexander said. "Like a shadow and a splash?"

She nodded eagerly.

"Maybe it's the squid," Eliza joked.

"It might be though," Angelica said, brows furrowing together.

"I mean," Alexander added, "considering everything that's going on here I think a squid is pretty reasonable."

Angelica looked at him, her dark eyes flashing. "Want to go and investigate it?" she suggested.

"You're gonna be spy men now?" Lafayette asked, chuckling.

"Spy men?"

"The men. You know, with the magnifying glasses and the funny hats?"

"Detectives," John said. "You mean detectives."

"That's what I said."

Angelica, glancing at Alexander, got to her feet.

"Come on, it'll be fun," she said, pulling him with her.

"Okay, sure." Alexander glanced at the rest of the group. "We'll be right back," he said, and the two ran off to see if they could spot the mysterious splash again.

If Alexander had actually been focusing on the situation he might've found it strange that Angelica thought they could find the legendary beast from only one tiny clue. He might have also noticed the way John seemed to stiffen as he followed them with his gaze, before he ultimately turned back to the others; his consequent contributions to the conversation a bit too enthusiastic and his laughs a little too forced.

x

They were barely out of ear shot from the rest when Angelica slowed her pace.

"How are you liking Britain so far?" she asked.

"It's quite nice," Alexander answered. "There's a lot of stuff happening, but I think it's great. How about you?"

"Same," she agreed. "I will always stand by the fact that Manhattan is the greatest city in the world, but I'm liking Hogwarts a lot, too." She paused. "On that note, where are you from? I don't think you've mentioned it."

He shrugged casually. "It's unimportant, really. There's a million things I haven't done and I can't go into the past to do them. Isn't being here in the present what matters the most?" He grinned, and could only hope that she didn't notice him trying to steer the conversation in another direction. Thankfully, she appeared to take the bait.

"Such clever words." She gave him a wry smile. "But you're right, of course. The present is certainly the most important point in time, and I can't argue that "here" isn't an interesting place to be."

"Right?" Alexander jumped at the conversation. "This entire castle is shrouded in peculiar things."

"Not to mention the lessons. Seriously, Arithmancy here is _so_ much better than anything else I've ever studied. But maybe that's just me." She laughed a little.

"No way!" His fear of family-related questions vanished as he looked at her with sparkling excitement. "Aritmancy's my favourite subject! It's really fascinating."

"For real? Wow, I've never met anyone else who likes it!"

And so their conversation strayed onto subjects, and eventually merged into a discussion about the political climate between Britain and its colonies—Alexander wasn't sure how that transition happened, either. But he enjoyed it, and Angelica was great to talk with. So they talked, talked and laughed as they walked the path around the lake and the surrounding grounds. Few times did their eyes stray from each other, and not once did they look for the giant squid.

x

Although the two felt that they had talked for only two, maybe three minutes, they did realize that they had wandered quite far and had to turn back. Indeed, under the tree the others had packed up their lunch and were ready to leave, all of them having assignments or things to do.

"We should meet up again soon though," Angelica said. "This was really nice."

"Yeah," Eliza agreed. Similar statements rose from the group.

"Also," Angelica added in a lower tone as the others began to say their goodbyes. "While I know that the hat placed you in Gryffindor, I must say that you'd make an excellent Ravenclaw as well. We may be known as the smart house, but it's been a long time since I've had the pleasure of matching wits with someone at your level."

Alexander sketched her a little bow, trying not to feel too pleased by the compliment.

" _Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure_ ," he recited. "That's your motto, isn't it? You truly have a lot of it." He straightened up. "You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Pardon?"

Realizing the double meaning himself, Alexander hurried to smooth over the conversation.

"Only that since I myself have found few to talk about Arithmancy with, you might've encountered the same problem."

She laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Correct," she said. "And you're a good person to talk with."

"The same is true for you."

She flashed him a smile, eyes twinkling.

"Let's hope we'll get to have more conversations in the future, then, mister Hamilton."

With those words still ringing in his ears, Alexander followed his fellow Gryffindors back into the castle, the image of Angelica's intelligent gaze flashing in his mind.

x

"So, how was your date?" John asked, wiggling his eyebrows. A smug smile lined his lips.

Alexander looked up from his Transfiguration essay—now almost done.

"Date?"

John rolled his eyes so far they almost got stuck. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, seriously." Alexander put his quill down, real confusion on his face. He racked his brain for when he might've gone on a date he wasn't aware of. "What?"

With a dramatic sigh John plopped down in the armchair opposite to him.

"Your _date_ ," he clarified. "With _Angelica Schuyler_. I'm curious, how did it go?."

The penny finally dropped for Alexander, whose mouth literally fell open. "Haha. Funny."

John chuckled. "Man, it's fine if you don't want to tell me, I was just wondering." John leaned back in his seat, voice relaxed. His hands, hidden from sight in his pockets, were knotted tightly into the fabric.

"That was _not_ a date," Alexander said, his tone that of someone who doesn't know if the other person is joking or not.

"No?" John snorted.

"No!" He shook his head violently. "We just went to look for the—" His voice faltered. "Squid."

John raised his eyebrows, a victorious grin on his lips. "And did you find it?"

"Well, no."

John laughed airly. "Shocker." He got up from his chair. "But hey, keep me updated on the situation, right? You've found quite a catch—"

"John!" Alexander said in exparseration, dragging a hand through his hair. "I'm not dating her. That wasn't a date. I don't know why you think it was, but it wasn't."

"If you say so." John gave him a pat on the shoulder, in no way giving off the impression that he believed him. Alexander opened his mouth to argue his case, but John simply grinned at him and sauntered out of the common room. The second he crossed the threshold, the smile fell from his lips.


	5. Pick Up a Quill Start Writing

**Pick Up a Quill Start Writing**

* * *

 _What was wrong with him?_

John lay in his bed, staring blankly at the dark ceiling high above him. The soft sounds of his roommates' snoring filled the air, but he paid it no attention.

 _There was no way he was_ that _oblivious._

Mental images kept swirling before his eyes, lasting no longer than a second but turning his already jumbled thoughts into a confused mess. Angelica smiling at Alex. Alex sprinting off with her around the lake. Their hushed, private conversation …

Seriously, what was wrong with him?

John knew he shouldn't care this much. Knew, and was frankly surprised that he did. Sure, he'd enjoyed Alex's presence, his jokes, his laugh, the little frown he made when he was concentrated ...

John groaned softly and spun around to bury his head in his pillow. This was stupid, so, so stupid. This shouldn't bother him. This shouldn't bother him _at all_. Alexander could do whatever he wanted; could do _who_ ever he wanted, in fact. And regardless of how much he insisted that his and Angelica's little escapade at the lake had in no way been a date, John found that a little hard to believe. He wanted to believe it–wanted it so desperately that the sudden need for it almost knocked the air from his lungs. But wanting it wouldn't change reality, nor his nagging feeling that Alex hadn't been completely honest. But he couldn't exactly do anything to ease his suspicions. There was no way to force the truth from Alexander, and he wasn't about to go and ask miss Schuyler about it.

Yet even though he knew it was stupid, knew it was hopeless, knew it was helpless, John still couldn't let it go. He twisted and turned in his bed, opened and closed his eyes, pulled up his covers and kicked them off again. Memories were still swimming in his mind, like some kind of non-chronological recap of Hogwarts so far. His first meal in the Great Hall. The castle from a distance. Him getting sorted. The first night with his housemates–Lafayette, Mulligan, and Alexander. Alexander. Alexander walking away with Angelica. Alexander confiding his problems to John, talking about childhood and loneliness and lessons. And Alexander, staring furiously at Jefferson, because Jefferson suggested that–

And John Laurens realized three fundamental truths at the exact same time.

Number one: The wizarding world may be good at many things, but being accepting was not one of them. Thus, homophobia was as deeply ingrained in society as the use of magic itself. He'd known this since he was a child, naturally. Known it from hearing snide comments and hostile remarks; known it from witnessing crude punishments and "unexplainable" disappearances.

Number two: Thomas Jefferson had some kind of personal vendetta against Alexander and would do anything and everything to get dirt on him. He'd also have no qualms about using whatever he could find–or make up–to ruin Alexander's life.

Number three: John was helplessly in love with Alexander Hamilton.

x

One week.

He'd been at Hogwarts for _one week_ , and he'd already made this big of a mess for himself. John cursed violently, slamming his head down on his bed. He rolled onto his back, staring angrily at the ceiling as the realization hit him.

"Holy goddamn shit," he muttered.

It wasn't that he hadn't expected that he might encounter problematic crushes. He'd been aware of the fact that he fell in love with boys since the age of eleven, and aware that it was a problem since way before that. But few times had it hit him quite as hard as when Jefferson's eyes ran over him and Alexander, gleaming with wicked delight. Few times had his stomach dropped as quickly as when that look of sheer terror had passed over Alex's face.

Another thing that John hadn't expected was that he'd come to realize he was crushing on someone because a person like Thomas fucking Jefferson brought it up. But his sickening words had played on a loop in the back of John's head ever since that damn Charms class, as if they held some meaning he hadn't fully comprehended at first. Like there was some small, significant thing that they'd dug up from far inside his brain and needed him to find.

That something, John thought with bitter humor, being the very feelings Jefferson had exhibited such disdain for.

How did one even manage to develop a crush after such a short amount of time? Wasn't there, like, a certain time span in which you had to get to know the person you'd fall in love with first? As in, time spent talking to them. Maybe time spent staying up late together, laughing, developing inside jokes. Sneaking secret glances and learning small habits and quirks of the person; like the way Alexander chewed on his bottom lip when he was reading, or how he'd never re-dip his quill before the ink had run out completely, or how his hands never seemed to be still, or–

John felt all energy leave his body. A small, defeated sigh escaped from his lips and he turned over to bury his entire face in his pillow.

It had been _one week_.

Fucking hell.

x

Alexander woke early the next morning, feeling refreshed and clear-minded. He'd fallen asleep slightly confused, mulling over what John had said to him in the common room. But it seemed as though while he'd slept his thoughts had been cleaned up, and Alexander rolled his eyes at himself as he swung his legs over the edge of his bed.

John had been kidding, of course. Teasing him for something unreasonable, the way friends did. Alex had no idea why he'd taken it so seriously. He shook his head. He really needed to sort himself out.

Since none of the others showed any signs of waking up soon, Alexander grabbed a book and padded down into the common room. The sky was already light, but the place was empty but for a cat that had taken up residence in one of the armchairs. So Alex simply sat himself down in another one and opened his book, immersing himself into the history of long gone Ministers of Magic, the letters flooding his mind and drowning out the world around him.

x

So the Sunday started the way many Sundays do, with little productivity and a whole lot of doing nothing. The only thing out of the ordinary was the remarkable absence of the dozens of owls that usually flooded the great hall during breakfast. The four boys all kept glancing up at the ceiling, bracing themselves for the sudden rush of wings and assault of letters and parcels. But there was no distant sounds of cawing birds, and their breakfast remained mail-free on their tables. Finally an older Gryffindor, a native Englishman, judging from his accent, took pity on them and leaned over his friend to cheerfully tell them: "There's no post on Sundays!"

x

It was late afternoon by the time the boys decided they had to get a grip on their lives. Hanging around and doing nothing was nice and all that, but eventually they all started to get the creeping sensation that they'd neglected some responsibilities. So by the time the clock struck five they hauled themselves off to the library.

"I'm still not over the fact that we have homework after our first week," Lafayette grumbled, scratching down some notes.

"What did you do over at your last school then, Frenchie?" Mulligan laughed. "I thought studying was the point of a school."

"Don't pretend like you're any happier about the assignments," Lafayette scoffed. "I heard you complaining about a Care of Magical Creatures' essay all through yesterday's dinner."

"It's _a foot_ long."

Lafayette rustled his parchment in front of Mulligan's nose. "And this is two."

Alexander tried to hide the smile that was growing on his face. He softly closed his book about the Ministry of Magic and rose from his chair, walking over to browse the shelves around him. He could still hear the two boys bickering, and occasionally John adding a comment on his own. He seemed to be favouring Mulligan's side–though that might have to do with the fact that Mulligan was favouring Care of magical Creatures..

Alexander ran a hand over the gilded spines of the books. The titles sped through his mind, covering any and every subject he could think of. It still took his breath away, being surrounded by the sheer size of the library. He'd been to libraries before, of course. They were great when you were scamming for every book you could get your hands on. But none of the ones he's seen had been quite this large, or quite this beautiful. Alexander paused, one hand still on the leather cover of a book. The large windows in the wall let in enormous amounts of lights, illuminating aisle after aisle. And in the places even the windows couldn't reach there was chandeliers, casting halos of golden light on endless numbers of bookshelves, each carrying hundreds of books. Specks of dust swirled through the air in lazy patterns, the shimmering particles as innumerable as the volumes of parchment around them. Because the heavy oak shelves stretched on, and on, and on, carrying unfathomable amounts of knowledge. Knowledge he'd had to scrape, claw and fight for in the past, now suddenly surrounded him in every direction. It sat just at his fingertips, all he had to do was reach out a hand and–

"Alexander!" Lafayette's shout rang through the wing and made Alexander cringe. Saying a silent prayer that Madam Pince hadn't heard it he hurried back, wondering what on Earth could be worth the risk of invoking the librarian's wrath by _yelling_.

x

"Come and tell this idiot that Arithmancy is more than just numbers!" Lafayette wore a look of pure offence, glaring down at Mulligan. The other boy appeared completely unfazed, simply peering down at Lafayette's many notes.

"Looks like number to me."

"Okay, no," Alexander laughed quietly, sliding down in his seat next to John. The boy looked up from his book. "I mean, yes, it is. But it's more than that. You … do things with the numbers."

Lafayette nodded. "Hard things."

Mulligan scowled at the parchment. "It still looks like numbers to me."

"Didn't you say you used it to predict the future, Alex?" John said.

Alexander's eyes darted to him. "Yep, that's true. That's the hard part."

"Well," Mulligan said, "I predict a future in which I finish this stupid assignment and go to have dinner. I didn't even need any numbers for it."

Lafayette made a face at him. "That's Divination, you twat. Arithmancy uses facts to make accurate guesses about the future."

"So … Divination for nerds?"

John turned to Alexander. "Remind me why we decided to study with them again?"

"No idea, honestly."

"Because when he tried to study with _you_ ," Mulligan interfered, momentarily stopping the ink-fight that'd commenced between him and Laf, "you ended up playing games all night."

"Hmm, true."

"Worth it," Alexander mumbled, and John's eyes shot in his direction. Alex grinned sheepishly, and was rewarded with one of John's toothy smiles. Lafayette mimed gagging at Mulligan, and who had to launch into a sudden cough attack.

"But honestly," Lafayette said once Mulligans convenient illness had seized. "What a _re_ you doing here, Hamilton? You're also in Arithmancy and you've done literally no work today!"

"That's because it was only homework if you didn't finish the work in class, which I did," Alexander answered mildly. Lafayette's face fell.

"What? How?"

"Eh, I used my quill? I wrote down the answers?"

"Careful," Mulligan mused. "He might splash ink on you next."

But Lafayette seemed to have found a better way to make use of his discovery.

"Brilliant," he exclaimed. "Then you can help me, how the _hell_ do you move the third-square of 'x' to the 'subject of 'f''?"

Mulligan looked downright terrified. He turned to John for support.

"Was that English?"

John chuckled, his gaze resting on Alexander, who attempted to explain it Laf. "For all I know, it might as well be French."

x

Mulligan eventually grew tired of listening to the English-French-Nerd-Divination, as he dubbed it, and excused himself.

"I have something I need to do," he muttered, scrawling down the last part on his homework and rolling it up.

"Uhu," John answered, focused on his own work. "See you at dinner."

"Yeah, maybe," Mulligan said as he disappeared down the aisle. John didn't take much notice of it, his attention already stretched between his own work and Lafayettes frequent groans. In short, he didn't have enough brain power left to wonder about his friend's whereabouts. Not when there were so many other important things to think about, such as the maximum amount of lettuce you could feed a flobberworm.

x

After Lafayette slammed his head into the desk–and almost knocked ink over his now complete homework, Madam Pince had finally had enough of them.

"Out," she snapped. "Too much noise! Disturbing the others!"

After sharing a glance between them, silent wondering where these "others" might be located, they decided to follow her orders. It was getting late, after all. Perhaps late enough to get hold of some dinner.

"As long as there's no lettuce," John groaned.

Alexander chuckled. "Care of Magical creatures not as interesting as you thought it'd be?"

"You have no idea."

His lips tugging upwards, Alexander said, "I suppose I don't. I'm still waiting on that turtle you promised me."

John laughed, feeling the sluggishness of studying leave his body as Alexander did the same. "I'll get you one. Just gotta get past the flobberworms first–they're _really_ dangerous."

"It sure sounds like an epic quest."

"It is. One day, they might even grow teeth."

"I admire your courage."

* * *

Hi! I don't know if these end notes serve any real purpose, but I want to say that I'm grateful that you've read this far! Also, this might be slightly longer than the 6-7 parts I'd planned, simply because I'm not that great at planning. In any case I hope you'll enjoy it and stick aroud for the rest. Take care!


	6. Laurens Likes Quidditch a Lot

**Laurens Likes Quidditch a Lot** (plus an important note at the end)

* * *

The days continued to pass by without anyone taking much notice of them. The sun rose and set by the horizon, and the air grew chiller with every morning. The summer had been unusually long, but it had been past the middle of September when they arrived and before long October came around, tinting the leaves of the Forbidden Forest with red and gold.

One of those fine autumn days a poster appeared on the noticeboard in the Gryffindor Tower, alerting everyone to the fact that emergency try-outs would be held for the Quidditch team. For whatever reason there was a spot open for a Chaser.

John was the only of the four who showed any sort of interest for the sign, but he also had enough enthusiasm to cover for the other three.

"Come with me, it'll be fun!" he squealed, begging first Alexander and then, when that yielded no results, Mulligan and Lafayette. "Let's go!"

But none of them saw the joy in the whole Quidditch thing. Or, as Mulligan put it, freezing their asses of on a stick thirty feet above the ground. So John pranced off to the pitch alone, stating that they'd all regret it when Gryffindor brought home the Quidditch Cup without them.

And through whatever stroke of luck or skill, he got the position. Beaming with pride, he threwn up the door of their dormitory and launched himself inside.

"First American on a Hogwarts Quidditch team, ever!"

"Congratulations!" Alexander had yelled, pulling John into a one-armed hug. "We knew you'd make it!" He'd barely finished his sentence before Laf and Mulligan tackled John to shower him with praise.

Because even though they still shared Mulligans opinion on the sport, they were still very proud of their friend. After all, it wasn't them who would have to have practise in showering rain.

John'd grinned widely, his hair still plastered tightly to his face.

"Just wait 'til I score the first goal!"

x

"Now it's up to you to hit Jefferson with those metal ball thingys," Lafayette said once the chaos had settled a bit.

"That's the Beaters' job," John laughed. "Besides, he's not even on the Slytherin team."

"You could hit him in the stands," Alexander suggested hopefully. While the weather might have cooled down, his conflict with the guy certainly had not. It had yet to move past sneering comments, the odd heated argument or "accidental" way-ward spells, but Alexander certainly enjoyed the prospect of Jefferson's face meeting a Bludger.

"I could lob the Quaffle at him," John mused. "It might hurt a little."

"Sounds great," Mulligan said. "I'm liking Quidditch better already."

"Maybe I should focus on the goal though? Just maybe?"

"Nah," Alexander assured him. "Old Jeffy's face will do fine."

* * *

Hi! First of all, sorry for the short chapter. It was all I had and I needed to get this note up. Due to some new schedules and some other things happening right now I'm going to put this fic on pause, because I won't be able to update for quite some time. I'm probably going to take it down as well since I don't like to have an unfinished, non-progressing story up, but if I find the time and motivation to finish it I'll re-upload it. I'm really sad and annoyed to stop midway but I know that it's either that or put out rushed/bad quality writing, and I don't want to do that either. I hope no one is mad at this, again I'm truly sorry and really disappointed in myself. But thank you so much for reading this far, take care!


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